Wish we could turn back time
To the 90s days…read moreWhen we all could get
Large Smoothies for only $6
And that's pretty much the reason why I don't go to Robeks anymore. Of course, I'm not expecting a large smoothie to be $6 today, but when you're paying more for a small smoothie today than for a large smoothie back then, it's hard to find much reason to come back, especially when the closest location to you isn't even that close.
I came for National Smoothie Day when Robeks was celebrating by offering 90s prices for their Classic Smoothies: $3.99 for a Small, $4.99 for a Medium, and $5.99 for a Large.
This Robeks in Fullerton is located on the southeast corner of Imperial and Harbor. It's in the same plaza as Best Buy and Floor & Decor, but the juice shop is located much closer to the intersection next to the Mobil Gas Station.
The first two things I noticed about this Robeks was that they have a drive thru, and their signage said, "Juice & Signature Sandwiches Made to Order" underneath Robeks, but not the word "Smoothies", making me think they didn't offer smoothies here. The drive thru was a rather unique feature that I've never seen at a Robeks before, and I've been to a few other locations.
Another unique feature about this Robeks is their front patio, which is encompassed by a white gate. Within this patio, there are a couple of tables with umbrellas, almost making it look like a cozy house with a nice front yard for neighbors to enjoy some tea together.
When I arrived, there weren't any customers inside, but there were some customers who went through the drive thru, and a male employee was assisting a customer at the pickup window at the time. I needed plenty of time to decide which of the Classic Smoothies to get, not just because it took a while for that employee to even approach me, but rather, the menu boards were so far behind the front counter that even if you were standing right in front of the register, the menu would still be quite the eye chart.
I did take a photo of the menu so I could read it better, but brought up that concern to the employee; he was happy enough to give me a menu, but didn't bother to reply to my question of, "I'm allowed to keep this, right?" as he went to assist another drive-thru customer. I figured if they had a lot of those menus, losing one wouldn't hurt their business.
As I was trying to decide which smoothie to get, I was amazed at how long their display case was. They showed photos of all the sandwiches they offer, and there was a multitude of different bread loaves right behind the plexiglass. The left side of the front counter has a rack of Kettle Chips and two sets of straws; there are also shelves of protein cookies on the wall, and above the shelves are empty cups showing the drink sizes.
The Large is about twice as large as the Small, so for $2 more, the Large is the better buy, even at the discounted 90s prices. I had such a difficult time deciding what to get, but I went with the Hummingbird, which happens to be their logo.
The wait for my Hummingbird smoothie wasn't that long; it was only three minutes before a female employee set my smoothie down on the pickup counter. I was able to grab a straw until I realized there were two sets, and I wasn't sure which straw to get. I asked that female employee what the differences were between the two straws; she replied that the thicker ones, like boba straws, were for the smoothies while the thinner ones were for the juices. Needless to say, I took a boba, no I mean, smoothie straw.
I liked how bold the flavor was in the Hummingbird, but unfortunately, the Hummingbird tasted kind of funny as well. Of course, not the haha kind of funny, but rather, the odd kind of funny. It tasted more sour than I expected, like the fruits they used to craft my smoothie were nowhere close to ripe! They use orange sherbet and passionfruit juice in the smoothie; one or both had to have been much more sour than the norm. The mangos are another suspect.
Interior is standing room only, though I did see four chairs stacked in the corner. But not even one table? Or even a pickup counter distant from the register? No, they decided to make the left side of the front counter both for ordering and pickup. If there are multiple groups of customers inside the lobby at any given time, I can see some pandemonium happening with customers bumping into each other to try to place their orders or pick up their drinks. I suppose that's why they have a drive thru.
Hours are posted at the front door: 7:30 AM to 9 PM daily, but the lobby closes at 8 PM daily.
Overall, it's an okay Robeks for smoothies, but I think it's more geared towards sandwiches as it seems much different than the other locations I've been to before. It would have been kind of cool to try the drive thru for once, but unless Robeks has some other promo to celebrate their 30th anniversary, a return visit, even to the Long Beach location, won't happen for a long while.
